Latin American bishops to elect new leadership

Bishop Heriberto Bodean, general secretary and spokesman for the Uruguayan bishops' conference told CNA that the bishops from all over Latin America are meeting in Uruguay for their general assembly this week.

The bishops will hold a series of sessions on issues related to the life of the Church in Latin America on May 17. The following day they will elect the council's new leaders.

The bishops will continue with their sessions and will conclude the meetings with Mass at a local Marian shrine on May 20.

In addition to the representatives of the 22 bishops' conferences of the region, other attendees include Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the prefect for the Congregation for Bishops and President of the Commission for Latin America, and Guzman Carriquiry of Uruguay, recently designated secretary of the Commission for Latin America by Pope Benedict XVI.

Carriquiry is the first layman appointed to such a post in the Roman Curia.